Thursday, September 20, 2012

The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and community partners across the nation
worked together to remove or bypass 158 dams, culverts and other
structures in 2011, opening more than 2,180 miles of streams to native
fish populations. These efforts, coordinated through the National Fish
Passage Program, have also contributed to improved water quality,
provided additional recreational and economic opportunities, and even
addressed serious threats to human health and safety.

“The
National Fish Passage Program serves as a vital catalyst for
grass-roots community action that not only benefits native species and
habitat, but also contributes to local economies and addresses aging and
sometimes dangerous infrastructure,” said Service Director Dan Ashe.
“Everyone wins when rivers and streams are allowed to flow freely again –
that’s why this program is so popular and successful.”

Documenting
these successful efforts, the Service released its 2011 Annual Report
for the National Fish Passage program this week. The report, which can
be viewed at http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/facilities/nfpp.html,
provides dozens of stories and examples of projects completed in the
past year that have provided tremendous benefits to fish, wildlife and
local communities.

The
National Fish Passage Program, administered by the Service, is a
voluntary initiative active in all 50 states. The non-regulatory
program addresses barriers that limit fish movement vital for their
survival. Fish passage is gained by removing dams, replacing poorly
designed culverts, constructing low-water crossings, and installing
fishways. These projects are done in close cooperation with state and
federal agencies, non-government organizations, universities and
supporting individuals. Program staff identifies, prioritizes, funds,
designs and reviews these conservation projects, while working closely
with a wide variety of programs and partners to provide technical
support to local communities.

Since
the program’s creation in 1999, the Service and more than 700 project
partners have removed 1,118 barriers to fish passage, reopening 17,683
stream miles to access by more than 90 native species of fish and
freshwater mussels and reconnecting nearly 120,000 acres of wetlands to
their historic water sources. In turn, these projects have contributed
an estimated $9.7 billion to local economies and supported nearly
220,000 jobs.

From
the earliest days of the American colonies, people have sought to
harness streams and redirect them to provide valuable services such as
irrigation, power production, drinking water, flood control and
transportation. As a result, millions of culverts, dikes, water
diversions, dams, and other artificial barriers have been constructed to
impound and redirect water flowing through every river system and
watershed in the nation. While many of these structures continue to
serve a purpose, thousands of them are obsolete, abandoned or
deteriorating.

An
estimated 74,000 dams alone dot the American landscape, thousands of
which are small dams built decades ago that no longer serve a purpose.
These structures impede the passage of native fish and destroy spawning
habitat, as well as degrading water quality by preventing stream flow
that flushes sediment and pollutants out of river systems. They also
reduce fishing and other river-based recreational and economic
opportunities for people. And in some cases, aging dams threaten
downstream communities should they fail, or otherwise endanger human
life and safety by creating dangerous drowning conditions.

For
example, the town of Front Royal, Virginia worked with National Fish
Passage Program staff to remove an abandoned low head dam on the
Shenandoah River that was the site of multiple drownings. This “drowning
machine,” as it was called locally, was removed in October, 2011,
enabling residents and visitors to enjoy fishing, canoeing and swimming
on a safer river.

And
in the Klamath Basin of Northern California, the Service worked with
the Karuk Tribe, the Forest Service and local watershed and salmon
restoration councils to restore fish passage on ten miles of the Klamath
River. Completed in 2011, the project identified and addressed 48
barriers to fish passage in this stretch of the river. And by using
tribal youth to do much of the work, it provided summer jobs to dozens
of young men and women and introduced them to potential careers in
fisheries science.

“As
this project and many others like it demonstrate, the National Fish
Passage Program is also an avenue for young adults to develop skills and
confidence that will help them throughout life, whether they pursue a
career in conservation or not,” said Director Ashe. “We are very
grateful to the Service employees, partners and communities who have
done so much to make the Program a monumental success for both people
and wildlife.”

Rachel Carson's 1962 book, which focused
on what she saw as the widespread and detrimental use of pesticides, is credited
as being the catalyst for the modern environmental movement and helping to lead
to the creation of the EPA in 1970.

EPA's events in the Pittsburgh area
centered on how one person can make a difference, Carson's pioneering work and
its lasting change.

"With the publication of Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring,"
average citizens grasped, maybe for the first time, how their choices could harm
the environment in which they live," said EPA Regional Administrator
Shawn M. Garvin. ”Each of us is an engine of
change in the choices we make, what we buy and how we live."

The event and tour of the Rachel Carson Homestead was followed by a
pollution prevention lesson for approximately 150 9th and
10th grade students, and faculty involved in environmental science at
nearby Springdale Jr./Sr. High School. Allegheny Valley School Superintendent
Dr. Cheryl Griffith and Allegheny Valley School Board Chairman Larry Pollick
introduced the EPA regional administrator to the assembly audience.

Garvin spoke of EPA's history and the conditions which led to the
agency's creation before responding to questions from the students.

While pollution can be a complex topic
involving pesticides, power plant emissions and groundwater contamination, one
of the easiest ways for individuals to make a difference is through recycling
and Pollution Prevention Week is an annual opportunity to take stock and renew
our efforts.

Recycling began about 25 years ago with
just paper. It eventually expanded to include glass and plastic, then
electronics. The next expansion is already underway with food recovery, which
through donations to hunger-relief organizations and composting, diverts food
waste from landfills where it can produce harmful gases that contribute to
climate change.

The Rachel Carson Homestead on Marion Avenue in Springdale, Pa. has
just completed a year-long renovation. The house is listed with the National
Trust for Historic Preservation and Pittsburgh History and Landmarks.

To learn more about your own community, go to www.epa.gov and click on MyEnvironment on the
lower left side of the page. After entering your zip code, the site will provide
a snapshot of your environment including air pollutants, and companies with
permits to discharge waste water into rivers.

Sunday, September 09, 2012

New York adopted the final changes to regulations that will reduce
fishing mortality of river herring and create a sustainable fishery, New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner
Joe Martens announced today. River herring (alewife and blueback
herring) are anadromous fish that spend most of their life in the ocean
but return to their natal rivers to spawn.

"River herring are part of New York's native fauna and need to be
more intensively managed to provide long-term, sustainable populations,"
said Commissioner Martens. "These unique fish are important to New
York's waters and many New Yorkers enjoy their return to tidal waters
each spring."

In the Hudson River, commercial and recreational anglers primarily
use these fish as bait for striped bass, but some are taken for human
consumption. Because information on the status of the river herring
populations is available for the Hudson River and its tributaries and
DEC can assess that status of these populations, a continuing fishery is
allowed, though a reduced fishery. Since little data is available on
stock status in other New York waters, implementing a moratorium on
river herring fishing is required.

The adopted rule restricts the current fishery in the Hudson River, and all tributaries and embayments by:

Establishing a recreational open season and a daily creel limit.

Permitting angling only (e.g. no nets) in the tributaries and embayments.

Reducing the size of allowable nets in the Hudson River proper.

Requiring charter boats to register with the DEC to be eligible for a special boat creel limit.

The rules for commercial fishers include:

Increasing restrictions on net use and size.

Establishing a 36-hour no-fishing escapement period for all fishing gears.

Increasing monthly reporting requirements for their catches.

The list of waters where the harvest of river herring is prohibited
are: the Delaware River and its tributaries, all streams in Bronx,
Kings, Manhattan, Nassau, Richmond, Suffolk, and Queens counties, and
Westchester County streams that are tributary to the East River or Long
Island Sound.

The Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), a cooperative
interstate fisheries management organization, of which New York State
is a member, recently confirmed that coast- wide river herring stocks
are depleted. The blockage of rivers by dams, habitat degradation and
overfishing led to the depletion of the river herring stocks along the
Atlantic coast.

In 2008, ASMFC adopted an amendment to the ASMFC Interstate Fishery
Management Plan for Shad and River Herring requiring states to adopt
measures that would reduce fishing mortality and allow the river herring
stocks to rebuild. New York State promulgated these regulation changes
to comply with the amendment and to protect the local river herring
stocks.

Friday, September 07, 2012

Agreement
will protect the health of the largest freshwater
system in the world

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and
Canada’s Minister of the Environment Peter Kent today signed the newly amended
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement at a formal ceremony in Washington, D.C.
First signed in 1972 and last amended in 1987, the Great Lakes Water Quality
Agreement is a model of binational cooperation to protect the world’s largest
surface freshwater system and the health of the surrounding
communities.

“Protecting cherished water bodies like the Great
Lakes is not only about environmental conservation. It’s also about protecting
the health of the families—and the economies—of the local communities that
depend on those water bodies for so much, every day,” said Administrator
Jackson. “The amended Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement we signed today
outlines the strong commitment the U.S. and Canada share to safeguard the
largest freshwater system in the world. Our collaborative efforts stand to
benefit millions of families on both sides of the border.”

“Joint
stewardship of the Great Lakes—a treasured natural resource, a critical source
of drinking water, essential to transportation, and the foundation for billions
of dollars in trade, agriculture, recreation and other sectors—is a cornerstone
of the Canada-United States relationship,” said Minister Kent. “The Great Lakes
Water Quality Agreement supports our shared responsibility to restore and
protect this critical resource, and builds on 40 years of binational
success.”

The revised agreement will facilitate United States and
Canadian action on threats to Great Lakes water quality and includes
strengthened measures to anticipate and prevent ecological harm. New provisions
address aquatic invasive species, habitat degradation and the effects of climate
change, and support continued work on existing threats to people’s health and
the environment in the Great Lakes Basin such as harmful algae, toxic chemicals,
and discharges from vessels.

The overall purpose of the Agreement is “to
restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the
waters” of the Great Lakes and the portion of the St. Lawrence River that
includes the Canada-United States border. Both governments sought extensive
input from stakeholders before and throughout the negotiations to amend the
Agreement. Additionally, the amended Agreement expands opportunities for public
participation on Great Lakes issues.

The amended agreement sets out a
shared vision for a healthy and prosperous Great Lakes region, in which the
waters of the Great Lakes enhance the livelihoods of present and future
generations of Americans and Canadians.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife (Service) today announced that they will
review the status of the Eagle Lake trout to determine whether listing
under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) may be warranted. This
announcement follows a finding that a petition, seeking to protect the
fish under the ESA, and other information available at the time of the
petition, presented substantial information to indicate that listing may
be warranted.

In making this finding, the Service relied on the information
presented by the petitioner and information in our files at the time we
received the petition in 2003. In the review of the status of the
Eagle Lake trout, the Service will be looking at the best scientific
and commercial available today and is asking the public for any
scientific and commercial information regarding this species.

The Service will accept information from the public until
November 5, 2012. Comments can be submitted online at the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov, (Docket Number FWS-R8-ES-2012-0072) or by U.S. mail or hand-delivery to:

The Eagle Lake trout is a beautiful fish. It is a subspecies of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
and native only to Eagle Lake in Lassen County, California. Eagle Lake
trout are known for their ability to withstand high alkalinity and the
large size of mature fish.

The ESA provides a critical safety net for America’s native wildlife.
This landmark conservation law has prevented the extinction of hundreds
of imperiled species across the nation

Monday, September 03, 2012

One dead juvenile pelican, 10 oiled dead
nurtria and two live oiled pelicans were located in the marshes in the
vicinity of Myrtle Grove, Sunday.

Wildlife Response Services is en route and will attempt to recover
the live pelicans, collect the dead pelican and nutria, and look for any
other impacted wildlife. Necropsies will be performed to determine the
cause of death.

Teams located oil in the marshes in the vicinity of two inactive oil
production facilities near Myrtle Grove, although there is no sign of an
active leak, and it is still unclear if the oil originated from these
facilities.

Coast Guard, EPA, and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
ground crews continue to monitor and assess the damage to waterways and
oil, gas, and chemical facilities to determine the extent of any
pollution impacts left in Hurricane Isaac’s wake.

Responders will collect oil samples from both the animals and the marsh and attempt to identify the source.

On the Lower Mississippi, Coast Guard waterways management teams are
assessing and coordinating salvage plans for vessels that grounded along
the riverbanks during the storm, to ensure strict safety standards are
met before any attempt is made to refloat or move the vessels.

“We are in constant contact with vessel and facility owners and
operators, as well as other waterway management organizations to make
sure we learn as quickly as possible of any releases,” said Lt. Cmdr.
Lushan Hannah, the Coast Guard incident commander for the response.
“Many of them have taken steps on their own to contain and clean up any
pollution.”

Coast Guard and state officials are asking residents to avoid any
contact with chemicals or pollution they come across, and to report it
to the Sector New Orleans Operations Center at 504-365-2200 or the
National Response Center at 800-424-8802.

“Our priorities are safeguarding public safety and protecting
wildlife and the environment while we work to return the impacted areas
to a normal state,” said Hannah. “We are working with federal and state
partners and the marine industry to make sure we locate as much of the
pollution as possible and initiate cleanup operations.”